Ceremony honors Dutch Flyers

JACKSON, MS (WLBT) - On this Memorial Day, Mississippians paid tribute not just to our own country's service members.

Dutch airmen, who trained at the Jackson Army air base during World War 2, are honored each year in Jackson.

More than 40 Dutch airmen and crew members are buried on a Dutch plot of soil at Cedar Lawn cemetery. Some were killed in training missions, others in combat.

This year's ceremony also honored two living Dutch Flyers-- Andries Bakker and Pieter Cramerus.

Family members of some of the flyers buried here make the trip to Jackson each year.

"Our promise to you is every Memorial Day, each year, we will honor your loved ones with dignity, as our bond of friendship always has been special and always will be special," said Major General Alex Roberts, of the Mississippi Air National Guard.

The history of the Dutch Flyers in Mississippi and the Jackson Army air base is represented at the Armed Forces Museum at Camp Shelby.

It sounds just like the plot line of a television show- a woman naked and afraid, lost in remote woods. But Lisa Theris’ journey back to civilization was real life and a real struggle that lasted a month in Bullock County.

It sounds just like the plot line of a television show- a woman naked and afraid, lost in remote woods. But Lisa Theris’ journey back to civilization was real life and a real struggle that lasted a month in Bullock County.